GIlboa man arraigned on 21 more sex charges

Gary Badertscher, GIlboa, has been arraigned on 21 counts of child pornography. He has already pled not guilty to 46 sex offense charges.(Putnam Sentinel/Nancy Kline)

GILBOA — A Gilboa man who has already pled not
guilty to 46 sex charges was arraigned on Wednesday for 21 additional
sex charges.

The Putnam County grand jury last
Friday handed up additional indictments against Gary L. Badertscher,
53, Gilboa. Badertscher pled not guilty to the additional charges. His
pre-trial has been set for Feb. 28.

Badertscher has pled not guilty to 46
sex charges, including compulsion to involuntary servitude,
endangering children, disseminating matter harmful to juveniles, and
pandering sexually-oriented material involving a minor and illegal
use of a minor in nudity-oriented material.

The
additional 21 counts are for illegal use of minor in nudity-oriented
material or performance, felonies of the fifth degree.

All
of the alleged offenses occurred between 2012 and August 2013.

During
his Jan. 15 pretrial, Gary Badertscher waived his right to a speedy
trial. His court-appointed attorney, Chris Zografides, indicated he
needed more time to review the charges and details regarding
Badertscher’s case.

On Feb. 3, Judge Randall Basinger approved a motion requesting
allotting $1,500 for a defense investigator at the rate of $45 per
hour and also allotted $1,500 for an expert witness fee.

Badertscher is already a registered sex offender for cases
occurring in Florida. He was convicted and found guilty in 2001 for
conducting sex acts in the presence of a person under 16 and also in
2006 for committing sexual acts in the presence of a person under 16.